KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The first project connecting Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas is nearing completion. The Rock Island Bridge over the Kansas River will serve as a trailhead and include a 700-foot-long entertainment district.
FOX4 had a first look on the bridge Wednesday evening.
The idea for the project began more than a decade ago when the founders went on a sailing trip, joking that there would be a restaurant called Chicken on a Bridge on the old railway bridge, but now… More restaurants are planned.
Michael Zeller's vision is to build a vibrant downtown area atop an abandoned railroad bridge built in 1905 as the Kansas City Stockyards.
“For a long time, they used to call me the crazy bridge guy. But these days, I stop being crazy like that and just play bridge,” Zeller joked.
That's because renovation work on the 35,000-square-foot bridge is nearly complete.
“We've done the hard part. We've made the bridge higher and wider and put this top deck on top of it. Now they're working on the relatively quick and easy part. We’re building these lightweight buildings,” Zeller said.
The buildings will include a 70-foot-long central kitchen, two bars, and are planned to accommodate 700 to 800 people. Zeller said he envisions everything from people reading books and drinking alcohol to concerts and weddings.
Some may see this type of infrastructure upgrade as a far-fetched idea, but Alain van Capelle is not one of them. He is the executive director of the High Line in New York City. The park is a 2.5-mile-long elevated Manhattan park along the railroad tracks that is now visited by 7 million people a year. He was one of the first to check on the bridge's progress on Wednesday.
“It gives me goosebumps because I can't wait to be here in five years and see how this whole area has changed,” Van Capelle said.
He spoke Wednesday at a private event for those involved in philanthropy and public and private funding for the $16 million project.
“I want people here in Kansas City to know that the rest of the country is paying attention to what’s happening here because there are no projects like this in other parts of the country and I think this can be replicated.” I hope you know that,” Van Capel said.
The opening of the Rock Island Bridge is scheduled for later this summer.
